Saturday, January 12, 2008

Kolkasia

Mom was a talented cook who really enjoyed food. She called several recipes her favorite, depending on what she was in the mood for. One of the ones that came up often was kolkasia (a type of colocasia tuber; apparently, and this I have not tested, it is possible to substitute taro for a reasonable outcome). This dish is a traditional Egyptian dish often cooked in winter. The sauce is Green, and it is very different from the regular Egyptian vegetable recipes cooked with meat and tomato. Here is the recipe provided by Wasfa Sahla:

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 75 minutes
Serves 4

1/2 bunch Coriander, chopped
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
1 bunch chard, chopped
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Ghee, margarine, or butter
1 kg Kolkasia
8-10 Garlic Cloves, medium size

  1. Peel and cut kolkasia into bite size cubes. Wash cubes very well under hot running water and drain.
  2. In a medium deep pan, heat broth over medium heat and bring to boil.
  3. Add kolkasia cubes and lemon juice. Leave to boil for 45 minutes to 1 hour until tender.
  4. In a skillet, melt ghee or margarine over high heat. Add garlic, coriander, dill and salk. Stir-fry until vegetables are dark green (3-5 minutes). Take off heat and leave to cool.
  5. Pour components of skillet in a blender and blend until smooth. If the texture is too thick, add ¼ cup broth.
  6. Add blended mixture to kolkasia and broth in the pan. Leave to boil for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately with tomato sauce and rice.

Enjoy!

1 comment:

Sarah said...

Oh man. My mom used to forcefeed me this stuff. Every winter, I had a torture session with kolkasia. My husband now calls it "old ass". Ha. Only when I grew up did I find out that some people in Egypt made it different. Sort of like "saneyet batates" if you know what I'm talking about. In a tray, baked, like potatoes, with meat and onions and tomatoes. Fun stuff! I'm glad there are a lot of people out there that enjoy this, but it's just not for me. Happy cooking. :)